Carnival Bookings Soar 45% As Cruisers See Better Days Ahead

The holiday travel season is in full swing, and bookings are through the roof. According to Mapp International, the cruise line that specializes in travel to the Caribbean, over half of all bookings are for the winter months of November, December and January. In fact, this year’s cruise season is on pace to be the most successful in the company’s history, with the industry’s overall growth reaching a whopping 17% increase.

It’s been a tough start to the year for travelers, with the price of oil causing airlines to cancel flights and leading to traffic jams on major highways. But despite the gloomy economic outlook, cruise ship companies are reporting a surge in bookings. Carnival Corp., which operates one of the world’s largest fleets, said Wednesday that bookings for its summer cruises rose 45 percent in the first quarter.

This time last year, the cruise industry was in a state of crisis. The recession had hit hard, causing the industry to struggle to ride the wave of new demand from the recession-hit American public. A year later, the industry has had a better 2013. Cruise tourism is on the rise, and cruisers expect to book with their favorite cruise line in record numbers, according to a new survey by the Cruise Lines International Association.. Read more about carnival cruise news and let us know what you think.As optimism for a successful comeback continues to grow, Carnival Corporation experienced a surge in new orders in the second quarter, up 45 percent from the first three months of the fiscal year.

In a meeting with financial analysts, CEO Arnold Donald said the path and trend are clear: there is pent-up demand.

Carnival Glory

With most of the company’s nine brands still closed in the second quarter, the cruise giant continues to lose money – more than $2 billion in the three months ended December 31. The month of May closed with more than $14 billion since the start of the global pandemic.

But with orders for next year in place ahead of a very strong 2019, and with $9.3 billion in cash and short-term investments, the company believes it has what it takes to weather the biggest crisis in its history and be on the long road to recovery.

Carnival has moved forward in recent weeks with its plans to revitalize the ship. The company currently has only five ships sailing around the world, but plans to have 42 by the end of November, more than half of its total capacity. The goal is to have Carnival Corporation’s entire fleet of 95 ships in service by spring 2023.

Regal Princess

READ MORE: Two more ships in the Carnival Cruise Line fleet

The airline will resume limited flights to the United States in July and August, departing from Florida, Texas and Washington.

We are currently evaluating various rollout options with a focus on maximizing cash flow while providing excellent customer service and serving the interests of public health, Donald said.

According to the CEO, strong demand confirms confidence in our future. Another positive sign was the strong growth in client deposits in the second quarter, which Donald described as an important step towards new business.

Customer deposits increased $300 million during the quarter to a total of $2.5 billion.

It is important to note that these deposits exceed the effect of refunds for cancelled flights.

Shares fell 2.5 percent after a phone call in which Donald admitted that things could get a little choppy in late 2023 and early 2023 because there will be a transition period.

Coningsdam to San Diego (Photo courtesy of Holland America)

READ MORE: The recent COVID-19 incident proves once again that the protocols work.

Executives at Carnival expect the company to achieve 2.5 percent growth by 2025. Before the pandemic, the company had a growth rate of 4.5%.

This is a much lower growth rate, but again, because people have spent so much time in isolation, the pent-up demand will continue for a long time, Donald said. It is difficult to predict the future, but we are logically optimistic that this good climate will continue for many years.

Donald said the global health crisis has changed both Carnival Corporation and the cruise industry as a whole.

We will be 19 ships short, which means a significant reduction in capacity, he said. We are adding new ships so that we will eventually reach a capacity similar to 2019. But the reality is that as a sector and as a company we have a much lower growth rate than we used to, and we have a lot of catching up to do.

The CEO said the line has a huge base of returning cruisers across all its brands who may not have cruised for two years or more until next spring. Catch-up demand will remain significant, and has been largely unsatisfied to date. And that’s the kind of environment we expect to work in, Donald said.

Carnival has decided to resume travel from U.S. ports when at least 95 percent of its customers are fully vaccinated. There are no occupancy restrictions on these flights, but Donald says Carnival will launch its flights at reduced capacity.

We are gradually increasing vessel utilization on these flights to allow the crew to navigate with improved protocols on board. When that’s done, Donald says we can get closer to full staffing.Travel deals are only getting better this year as Carnival Cruise Line announces a record year of attendance.. Read more about royal caribbean and let us know what you think.

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